Branding MEMS Inside

I had a “Eureka” moment while listening to Robert Brunner give the closing keynote -- “Ideas, Not Objects” -- at MEMS Executive Congress US 2012. As the founder, creative director, and partner of Ammunition, an innovation firm behind countless winning consumer brands, Robert helped me see why MEMS is not well known to the “man on the street.”

In his keynote, Robert spoke of how “a brand lives in a person’s heart. When two people feel the same thing about something, it’s a brand.” Thanks to social media, many of us are suspicious of any product unless it goes with an “actual capability that is valuable to us.” Consumers can smell fake, he said, and “our BS meters are finely tuned.” So, my dear engineers, you have to think about the actual emotional/thinking human being who is going to use and love your product. Thankfully, MEMS is the kind of technology with which consumers fall in love, so designing MEMS into your products should help to increase that intangible value and emotional connection.

In Robert’s worldview, the iPhone is not successful because it’s the best smartphone. It’s the idea that the iPhone is the “portal to my connected world” that makes it the number one smartphone in the world. Yes, technology enables, but design establishes. Sheer brilliance.

Robert then shared some fantastic case studies -- designs and brand experiences in which he personally has been involved: the Nook by Barnes & Noble and Beats by Dr. Dre. When Robert began talking with Barnes & Noble, it was clear that it is a bookstore at its core. Its e-reader needed to offer the experience and emotional connection of a book. The simple answer was to design the Nook without buttons (vs. the Amazon Kindle). Compare the two e-readers, and you can clearly see which one looks more like a book (spoiler alert: it’s the Nook).

His next case study was the story behind the creation of Beats by Dr. Dre. Through a series of music videos/commercials, Robert told the story behind his collaboration with Dr. Dre and Interscope/Geffen/A&M Chairman Jimmy Iovine. Robert defined the Beats brand, which bridges the connection between recording artist and the consumer listening to modern music via headphones (and other audio products). Creating “ideas, not objects” means the Beats brand has value for which consumers are willing to pay.

In Robert’s visionary interpretation of the creative process, “everybody is a designer.” Wherever you are in the chain of developing/delivering something that ends up in a user’s hands (not just consumer, by the way; this could apply to a guy steering a combine, too), you should embrace your role in the user experience -- and know that you can effect change.

He urged the audience to realize that “if you let the technology drive the experience per se, you may end up with something that works, but is difficult and does not connect with people.” That connection to an “idea” and not just to an “object” drives the user’s connection to a brand.

Robert has not only proven his ability to design beautiful and useful products; he has also demonstrated an uncanny ability to communicate to a bunch of MEMS executives the power of his message.

Karen, while these concepts are nice, they are not really core to the process of design. In the software world they call it user experience. I have seen companies try to sell their products based on value to the customer rather than some published price. The fact is that most of the work is involved with designing and building the product. Even Steve Jobs talked about needing 30,000 engineers. That is really bunk, but what he was talking about was all the detail work that was required to develop and deploy their products. The products you mention are successful becuase they represent a basic paradigm shift. That is more in the business concept than in the engineering.

I had a smart phone that came out before the iPhone. It was a Windows based phone and was branded by the carrier but built by a consumer electronics firm. It had a touch screen and was very nice. It was not a great phone, compared to dedicated phones, but then the iPhone has some issues there as well. What made the iPhone much more successful is the technology it is developed on. It could not have been made at the same time as my first smart phone. Don't forget that Apple has not always been successful. Remember the Newton? The technology just was not ready. The company that was successful at the time was Palm. Where are they now?

It sounds like his speech was a synopsis of the book he wrote a few years ago. Do you matter?

Also remember that Brunner was at Apple in the late 80's to mid 90's, during the company's decline. His interpretation of his work with Ive is notorious. The "everybody is a designer" comment comes with a lot of weight and history.

To naperlou's point, companies like Apple and Nike, both leaders in their fields, have excelled because they are consumer focused (i.e. user experience). You don't have to be the first with a new product. But, you do have to offer the best "story" or experience.

I agree with your point about consumers "falling in love with a product," Karen. There are few products in any technological realm that depend more on an emotional user connection than the iPhone and its kin.

Thank you all for your comments and I appreciate the diversity of them as well; as it shows the technologist's perspective as well as the designer's. For MEMS, I truly feel that the best "case study" for branding MEMS inside is the iPhone, at least to date. Yes, the airbag accel probably was the best and is still the #1 life-saving app for MEMS, but it isn't something that is an idea or a brand that people fall in love with like an iPhone. Same with an ink-jet print head (YES, it's MEMS)...and I always wondered why TI's marketing folks didn't come out and tell people that the DLP is actually MEMS! :)

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To those who have not stepped into additive manufacturing, get involved as soon as possible. This is for the benefit of your company. When the new innovations come out, you want to be ready to take advantage of them immediately, and that takes knowledge.

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